Vacations Are Now Going to the “Dogs”

By Julia Ryan

Increasingly, vacationers are packing the pooches, fetching the felines and taking flight with the birds, literally.
Pet travel soared 33 percent last year to a record 20 million pets, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Airlines and destinations are doing their part to meet the demands of this emerging travel trend. Here are a few examples.

Come fly with me
Airlines are enticing customers with frequent-flier pet programs that allow animals to earn miles toward free flights. Midwest Airlines introduced a frequent-flier pet program in January and since then pet travel has clawed its way up 25 percent.
United Airlines also offers pet miles. For a limited time, Mileage Plus members can earn 1,200 bonus miles when traveling with pets.
American Airlines, Delta and US Air cater to pet travel, too. Delta allows the most pet diversity in the friendly skies, welcoming not only popular pooches, cats and birds, but also ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and even reptiles, amphibians and fish (air cargo only, please).

All together now
At the Caliente Tropics Resort in California, pet-friendly rooms feature pet beds, throws, dishes and private- label, custom Tiki Treats. Tiled vanities also feature swinging gates. And Wyndam Hotels and Resorts even offer a doggie spa service, where your pooch can luxuriate with “paw-dicures.”

For you, my pet
Pettravel has also spawned an industry dedicated to pampering pets on the road. There’s a growing selection of amenities from portable potty turf to disposable kittylitter boxes that will help pets arrive in style and make the most of their vacation.
Large pet stores, such as PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc and PetsMart, Inc., are all sniffing the trend and expanding their offering of travel related products. The Outwar Hound pet booster seat and pet ramps for sport utility vehicles are popular items featured on their sites.
The experts at Traveler Advantage have also found such pet-friendly vacation products as an airline travel kit that features everything required by airlines to transport your pet in a kennel, compact first-aid kit for bumps and bruises on the road and Doggles-sport goggles that feature an interchangeable, UV-protected lens system with an array of colors to match your dogs wardrobe.

Vist www.travelersadvantage.com to learn more. Julia Ryan is vice president of Travelers Advantage.